Samsung Wins Court Battle Over Galaxy Note 7 Fires

The plaintiffs in a class-action lawsuit over the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 fires have lost their case. The court ruled in favor of the smartphone maker in its home country of South Korea.

Image source: Samsung.com

Lawsuit filed over Samsung Galaxy Note 7 fires

The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 fires were caused by problems with the smartphone’s battery which caused overheating and, in some cases, even explosions. The number of incidents got so high that many airlines banned the phone on their flights, and the Korean smartphone maker ended up having to recall every one of the devices.

Unsurprisingly, Samsung’s reputation was tarnished by the recall as well, although fans of the company’s handsets got over it pretty quickly thanks to the Galaxy S8 and S8+. They were released in the first half this year, while the Note 7 was initially released in August 2016. Fans are now looking forward to the release of the Note 8, almost like the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 fires never even happened.

Nearly 1,900 people in South Korea filed a class-action lawsuit over the recall because they had to return their phones, either for a different Samsung device or to get their money back. According to The Korea Herald, the plaintiffs were seeking a total of 935 million won ($822,000) to compensate them for having to send the phones back. They filed the lawsuit last year.

Court rules in favor of Samsung

Samsung ended up winning the lawsuit over the recall, as the District Court of Seoul ruled that the company did what it had to do to be fair to the handset buyers. The device maker offered Note 7 owners either a full refund or any other Samsung phone in exchange.

The court also ruled that Note 7 buyers were not unreasonably inconvenienced by having to return the explosive phones. Samsung reportedly recalled the handset twice, with the second being a permanent recall because it had re-released the phones several weeks after the first recall, saying that it had identified and remedied the problem.

One of the complaints in the lawsuit was that the recall due to the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 fires forced those who were affected to make multiple visits to area service centers. They claimed they had to go there in person, shelling out their own money and time to get the batteries in their phones checked and exchange them.